POLAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Tomasz Młodawski, Krzysztof Cichocki, Łukasz Wyszomirski and Krzysztof Fasula, Sołtysiński Kawecki & Szlęzak
Conventional Generation Operators of conventional generation facilities are required to notify the President of ERO of the intended permanent cessation of electricity generation, and to comply with applicable regulatory and licensing obli- gations. There is no general statutory requirement to establish a dedicated decommissioning fund, nor to pre-finance decommissioning costs over the opera- tional life of conventional generation assets. Decommissioning obligations arise primarily under EIA and waste legislation, and typically include site remediation, the safe dismantling of installations, and the management of industrial and hazardous waste. In certain cases, financial security requirements may be imposed on a case-by-case basis under environ- mental permits (including integrated permits or envi- ronmental decisions), particularly where significant environmental risks are identified. Mining-Related Facilities For lignite mining and associated infrastructure, decommissioning obligations also arise under the Geological and Mining Law and include land restora- tion, the rehabilitation of mining areas, and the reme- diation of environmental impacts. This would also include the establishment of a decommissioning fund. Nuclear Facilities The Atomic Law establishes a mandatory decom- missioning funding mechanism for nuclear facilities. The operator is required to contribute to a dedicat- ed Nuclear Decommissioning Fund throughout the operational life of the facility. The fund is intended to ensure that sufficient resources are available for safe decommissioning and long-term radioactive waste management. The decommissioning programme is subject to approval and ongoing supervision by the President of the National Atomic Energy Agency. 4. Transmission Lines and Associated Facilities 4.1 Constructing and Operating Transmission Lines and Associated Facilities The ownership, construction and operation of electric- ity transmission infrastructure in Poland are governed
through purchase, long-term lease arrangements, or the establishment of easements over real property. For most generation projects, including renewable energy developments, land access is therefore structured through negotiated private law arrangements rather than statutory expropriation mechanisms. Registra- tion of easements in the land and mortgage register is a standard legal tool to secure long-term site access and infrastructure rights. Expropriation is permissible only in limited cases where the investment qualifies as a “public purpose” under the Act on Real Estate Management. In such cases, compulsory acquisition may be carried out only where it is necessary to achieve the public purpose, and after unsuccessful attempts to acquire the prop- erty on voluntary terms. In practice, this mechanism is more commonly used for transmission infrastructure and other public infrastructure projects; it is not typi- cally used for generation facilities themselves. Compensation is determined based on the market value of the expropriated property, assessed by a licensed property valuer in accordance with statutory valuation principles. Compensation is typically set in an administrative decision and takes comparable mar- ket transactions into account. The affected landowner is entitled to challenge both the expropriation decision and the amount of compensation through adminis- trative appeal procedures and judicial review before administrative courts. In addition, certain strategic infrastructure regimes (including the special investment regime for nuclear power projects) provide for streamlined permitting procedures, including special location decisions, but do not generally introduce a broad or automatic right of expropriation for generation developers. 3.5 Decommissioning a Generation Facility Legal Framework The decommissioning of electricity generation facili- ties in Poland is governed by a combination of sector- specific and general environmental legislation, primar- ily the Energy Law, EIA legislation and the Waste Act.
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